IGPC

Following World War II, European decolonization led to the birth of brand new nations throughout Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands. Developing governments required aid in the operation of their post offices, and in the production, distribution, and marketing of their postage stamps. The Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation (IGPC) was founded by Dr. Manfred Lehman of New Yor

k, who recognized this need, and sought to become a one-stop postal and philatelic agent to these emerging nations. IGPC acquired the West African Republic of Ghana as its first client in 1957. Formerly a colony of the United Kingdom, Ghana established its independence, and the newly formed Ghanaian government quickly realized the extensive market for a young nation’s collectible stamps. They hired the up-and-coming New York based agency to design, produce, distribute, and sell their postage stamps to the world. IGPC’s marketing acumen in the international philatelic community brought crucial revenue to a progressive Ghana, and simultaneously catapulted the country onto the philatelic world stage. When news of the profitable relationship between IGPC and the Republic of Ghana spread, the agency’s government client list began to grow. Shortly thereafter, Ghana’s neighbor–the Togolese Republic, required similar services after its separation from France. For the second time, IGPC was hired to advance an emerging nation’s philatelic reputation, and to aid in the establishment of its postal service. The resulting success in Togo led to many more African clients such as the Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and dozens of others, and today, IGPC serves over 50% of Africa for their postal and philatelic needs. As IGPC built a prosperous client base in Africa, it simultaneously developed relationships with newly formed Caribbean nations, including Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. By the end of the 1980’s, the agency served more than two-thirds of the Caribbean, and had authenticated itself as a valuable postal and philatelic resource for newly independent nations. This reputation proved fruitful during the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s, when the new governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia needed to build independent postal services – they all came to IGPC for aid. At the same time the agency’s range of customers grew to include the newly sovereign Federated States of Micronesia, which led to the acquisition of more Pacific Island clients, such as Marshall Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. All have since become reliant on IGPC for international marketing and global distribution of their postage stamps. In 1957, IGPC began with one client nation. Today, it is the agent and general postal consultant to a staggering 70-plus international postal administrations, and is proud to represent every major race, religion, and culture of the world. The constant demand for the agency’s services has led to several expansions of its staff and facilities. Starting with a single entrepreneur, IGPC now employs a comprehensive government relations unit, a full service art department, and a dynamic marketing group to greater serve its clientele. The vast recruitment of new team members caused the agency to outgrow its Manhattan office, and in the summer of 2010, IGPC relocated to a custom designed facility on the outskirts of New York City. Through the years, IGPC has proved to be a pioneer of innovative philatelic products. Under the direction of creative visionary Barnet Liberman, inventions like the Sheetlet (a scenic painting divided into 25 stamps), became vastly popular with stamp collectors worldwide, and as a result was adopted by the postal authorities of Australia, Canada, China, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Russia, and the United States. However, IGPC is probably best known as the creator of the pop culture stamp trend. In 1979, the UN launched the International Year of the Child, leading IGPC President Sam Malamud to approach the Walt Disney Company for permission to use their characters on postage stamps. The program that followed was highly acclaimed amongst collectors, and was a revelation to the agency, which discovered a new way to enliven the philatelic community. Pop culture themes, such as world famous artists and athletes, began to grace the stamps of the governments represented by IGPC, and in turn brought in mass revenue and publicity for these nations. Always on the lookout for opportunities to expand the stamp markets of its government clients, IGPC was the first foreign philatelic agent to open a permanent office in China (where one-third of the world’s philatelists reside). From the capital of Beijing, IGPC promotes the sale of its clients’ postage stamps, while facilitating consumer research amongst this grandiose population of collectors. The research conducted here is used to devise stamp design and marketing strategies to boost sales in the Asian market, and ultimately earn greater income for the agency’s government clients. IGPC’s history of innovation, marketing proficiency, and tenacity, has served its customers for over 50 years, allowing them to flourish even during the hardest of economic times. Moving forward, IGPC seeks to further expand its government client base, while promoting their great nations to the world through the far-reaching platform of postage stamps.